Mark Fields Succeeds Alan Mulally as Ford CEO
July 1 will bring one of the biggest transitions Ford Motor Co. has experienced in years – but don’t expect to see many changes, short of who gets the best parking spot in the underground garage at Glass House, the automaker’s suburban Detroit headquarters. In what was arguably the worst-kept industry secret in some time, Ford officially confirmed that the 68-year-old Alan Mulally well retire as CEO and hand the reins over to his hand-picked protégé, Mark Fields at the mid-year mark.
Ken Vlasman Promoted to Director of Service at DUECO
DUECO, Inc. has announced the promotion of Ken Vlasman to the newly created role of Director of Service. In his new role, Ken is responsible for leading DUECO’s service teams in six service centers throughout the organization and directing and expanding the DUECO training solutions.
In Memoriam: Jeffrey Coleman
Jeffery L. Coleman, 56, senior fleet manager for Time Warner Cable's West Region, passed away on April 23 from acute respiratory failure and resulting complications.
Jeff began his career in fleet management in school bus operations at Laidlaw Transit in 1983, where he held positions from school bus driver to head dispatcher to division manager. He joined fleet management at Pinkerton Security and Investigations in 1995 and later moved to the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as fleet operations supervisor. In 2001, Jeff joined AT&T Broadband, which was acquired by Comcast in 2002. In 2006, he integrated three fleets in the Greater Los Angeles operations of Comcast, Adelphia, and Time Warner Cable. At the time of his death, Jeff managed the West Region fleet of 13,000 vehicles for Time Warner Cable.
Jeff was active in NAFA and was the chair and vice-chair of the NAFA Pacific Southwest Chapter. The chapter will honor Jeff with a moment of silence at the Chapter’s May 7th Meeting.
GM Mid-Size Pickup Trucks Will Have Diesel Engine Option
Until this year, diesel engines were the element of only the heavy-duty pickups offered by GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.
General Motors Co. said it plans to offer a diesel engine option in its forthcoming medium-size pickup trucks, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon.
GM sees an opportunity to reach new customers with a diesel offering in the medium-size trucks. The new trucks, which will go on sale later this year, will be 1,100 pounds lighter than the current Ford Motor Co. F-150 pickup -- the top-selling pickup.
Ford’s Newly Updated Transit Work Van Provides More Options
Introduced in the U.S. nearly six years ago, the Transit Connect has been a hit with small businesses – caterers, florists, even dog groomers – who need to run errands but don’t necessarily have a lot of equipment or merchandise to carry around.
The Transit replaces the aging E-Series van which has gone years with virtually no significant updates. For the launch of Transit, however, Ford has pumped about $1.1 billion into the Kansas City plant, where it will add 2,000 new jobs.
